| CODE | ACC5163 | |||||||||
| TITLE | Tax Design Seminar | |||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | |||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | |||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | |||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Accountancy | |||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Fair taxation is central to Malta and the European Union's social and economic model. It plays a fundamental role in upholding a strong and sustainable economy, a thriving business environment and a just social model. However, tax avoidance and abuse undermine the social contract between citizens and their governments, as well as pose a threat to fair competition. To this effect, this study-unit is specifically designed to foster active learning and knowledge exchange among students on issues related to the formulation of new tax policies, evaluation of current tax policies and the constant battle against tax abuse and avoidance. This study-unit is divided into two parts. For the first part, key-note guest speakers will be invited to deliver one-off lectures on various themes related to taxation, including morality, evasion and fairness, as well as taking into consideration socio-economic and political considerations. The second part of this unit calls students to work on their own in interdisciplinary teams. Different teams are assigned different research projects related to taxation at the start of the semester and, eventually, towards the end of the study-unit, team members are expected to present their analysis and projections during a series of class-based seminars. They must also submit a collective written report as a team, specifying the direct contribution of each team member. Study-unit Aims: - This study-unit places students in an advantageous position to undertake impact assessment exercises of existing and new tax systems; - It aims to help students map out tax repercussions across economic, financial, legal, social, political and ethical considerations; - The aims of this study-unit are to be achieved through hands on and theme work based tasks wherein students are given the opportunity to apply theoretical and conceptual frameworks of taxation to real life or hypothetical scenarios. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - critically identify and analyse the core features of good tax design; - conceptualize the impact on taxpayers and tax administrators regarding the introduction of different methods of taxation; - identify the economic, political and social impact of direct and indirect tax and which would be more appropriate; - decide which model of taxation is most appropriate in a given political and macro-economic setup. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the students will be able to: - apply theoretical and conceptual frameworks learnt during the previous study units to real-life and/or hypothetical case scenarios; - undertake holistic tax impact assessments, encompassing financial, economic, legal, social, ethical and political aspects; - enhance their analytical, research, writing and presentation skills; - present, explain and defend their output in front of an audience, and answer to questions from the floor. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: - IMF Working Paper Fiscal Affairs Department Targeting, (2013), Cascading, and Indirect Tax Design, Prepared by Michael Keen Authorized for distribution by Michael Keen - OECD (2014), Tax Compliance by Design: Achieving Improved SME Tax Compliance by Adopting a System Perspective, OECD Publishing, Paris - Taxation Paper No 19 (2009), The role of fiscal instruments in environmental policy.' Written by Katri Kosonen and Gaëtan Nicodème - OECD publications on Tax Policy Analysis, Various. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture, Seminar & Independent Study | |||||||||
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| LECTURER/S | Matthew Attard Andre Callus Alfred Camilleri Marvin Gaerty Carmel Said Formosa ALFRED SANT Laurenti Anton Vella |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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